Railway switch and signal interlocking



Patented Feb H. P. 00X.

ARAILWAY SWITCH AND ,SIGNAL INTERLOGKING.

(No Model.)

N. PETERS Pnuxo-Ulhcgmpher. wasnmglen. D4 C.

UNITED STATESv PATENT UFFIci-i HENRY F. COX, OF PHILADELPHIA,PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILWAY SWITCH AND SIGNAL INTERLOCKING.

SPECIFICATIONformng part of Letters Patent 1810.336302, dated February23, 1886.

Application mea May 25, less.

To aZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY F. COX, of Philadelphia, county ofPhiladelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented new and usefulImprovements in Railway Switch and Signal Interlocking, of which thefollowing is a full and true description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention belongs to that class of devices which are employed inconnection with railway switches and signals for the purpose of insuringthe performance of certain actions in a fixed and safe order.

In devices of this kind heretofore used provision has been made, asarule, to interlock the operating-levers alone. In this way it is quiteevident to any one skilled in the art that a breakage of the connectionbetween the switch-operating lever and its switch might result in awrong indication of the posit-ion of the switch by the signal.

lThe object of my invention is to provide a locking device which willinsure the switch being in its normal position as set for the mainltrack before the signal-operating device can be placed in such aposition as to allow the signal to indicate safety, and which will alsoprevent the displacement of the switch while the signal indicatessafety.

Reference being now had to the drawings7 which illustrate my inventionas applied to a switch and signal connections of the usual kind, Figurelis a plan viewof such aswitch; Fig. 2, a horizontal view on the sectionx. Fig. 3 shows my locking-cam in its normal position. Fig. 4 shows mylocking-cam in its position when the switch is open and the signalindicates danger.77

A A are the fixed rails; B B, the movable points of the switch; C, theswitch-actuating connecting rod; D, the switch-actuating lever; E, theusual bearings of the lever and rod. G is the signal operating andlocking rod. II H H are bearings for the rod G. I is the lockingcam,preferably forged on the rod G. J is the lever-arm for actuating thesignal. j is a staple or hasp, to which the lever J may be secured. Kisa pulley for the Serial No. 166,609. (No model.)

signal-connection; L, the signal-connection, and M the signal.

The shape and construction of the lockingcam I are shown in Figs. 3 and4. As will be seen, when the switch is in its normal position, as shownin Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the main track is open and the signal set toindicate safety by means of the lever J, which in this position (seeFig. 2) not only passes over and locks the switeh-actuating levers D,but vholds the cam I with its elongated end or portion upward andextending above the bottoni of the rail B, to which it must be in closeproximity, so that it will lock and prevent its being moved. rlhe cam Iis so shaped and so secured to the rod G that it will thus lock the railB during the whole rotation of the rod and until the lever J is throwncompletely over, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and then only is itpossible to move the switchpoint B over the cam, as shown in Fig. 4.When the switch is thus opened, the rail B rests upon or in closeproximity to the flat side of the cam, and locks it and the rod G in theposition shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1; and consequently the signalremains at danger and cannot indicate safety until the point B iscompletely moved back to its position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, andthemain track again perfectly clear. The cam I thus serves the doublepurpose of insuring the correct position of the switch-points before itis possible to turn the signal to indicate safety and of locking theswitch-point in the safety position. The bearings I-I H H, in which therod G turns, are secured to the tie and the timber' supported from theties on which the levers are journaled. rPhis method of securing thecam-rod insures the correct position of the cam with reference to therail, and makes it easy to apply my improvement to any existing switch.The ease with which my improvement can be so added is also increased bysecuring the pulley Ii on the rod G, as shown,

and the connection of the cam-rod G with the signal by means of thepulley-and-rope connection is important, as these will readilyaccommodate themselves to the position of the cam, and not tend, aswould a more rigid consubstantial] y as shown and described, the rodG,having cam I, and bearings H,secured to the tie.

3. In a switch and signal interlocking device, substantially as shownand described, the rod G, having cam I, pulley K, and bearings H,secured to the tie.

HENRY F. COX.

XNTitnesses:

W. O. DUNBAR, JOSHUA MATLACK.

